History Page 5

If this plan went into effect, it was suggested that the 700 Brompton location could be converted to a Women's Home and Maternity Hospital. After looking at the matter in further detail, it was feared that the neighbors would object to a service of this kind being offered. So, any possible future use for the 700 Brompton location was tabled.

Reading further in the Minutes, one does not find the new property proposal surfacing again until almost a month later on May 10. At this point, there is only a very short entry which records that the idea of purchasing the Seminary property was dropped. No further reasons or discussion about this matter are ever discussed in that source.

However, on May22, 1923, another ambiguous entry is contained in the Property Board Minutes which would have had The Salvation Army relocating the School on the west side of the city. The record also states that a new building would be built on that land, instead of an existing building used. The financing for this undertaking would be gained from the sale of 700 Brompton campus, which was appraised by a real estate firm to be worth about $350,000.00 The last recorded words on this project, like the previous proposed project, was never seriously brought up again.

The next major event at the Training College occurred from 1932-1933, as it was during this time that there was no session of cadets in training. During this year, the building was completely idle, and as a result, portions of the plaster and various other items needed to be replaced. There is no reason given for this break in the training of cadets, outside the grave stat of the nation's economy.

Again, the Property Board Minutes record the only information existing on the School available to this writer. It was suggested in Nat4m 1933, that the campus be rented to several Catholic Societies during the "A Century of Progress" exposition in Chicago. This rental would cover only 150 days, from the first of June until the first of November of that year. The Catholic Societies would use the campus as their Headquarters, semi-hotel, club and dorm during the exposition. After discussion, this proposal was refused because the start of the 1933-1934 session ( to be known as the "Do and Dare" session) would be hindered if not completely halted if such a rental took place.

The training process of cadets seems to be unhindered and quite normal until 1954. At this time, it was decided to build a new dormitory-classroom building along the Addison Street side of the campus. This project was begun in August of 1954, and suffered several setbacks in construction. One such setback was with the city of Chicago, who halted the construction until the architect agreed to move the building and additional twelve feet away from the existing sidewalk. After much controversy, the architect had to comply, and the change took place.

On November 8, 1954, General Kitching came to The William Booth Memorial Training College on the last day of his visit to Chicago ( this was the designation from 1942-1957), to lay the memorial plaque for the building which was at the time barely under construction. (The General had been in Chicago to lead the 1954 Territorial Congress.) The plaque placed on the east end of the building reads: "Erected to the Glory of God and the Service of Humanity, 1954."

In his address to the cadets and staff officers gathered for this occasion, the General left both groups with very stirring challenges. To the cadet body he said, "Remember your own dedication to the service of God. You are the life blood of the Army. If the flow of cadets ever ceases, the Army's life blood will stop and the Army will perish." To the officers he said, Renew within your own hearts some of the spirit of youth that you find on these grounds."